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Video:
as americans' credit card debt steadily rises, card companies continue to dole out applications offering more. but how much consideration, if any, goes into the offers?
as one glen burnie woman learned, even her house cat is deserving.
last month marilyn hecox's 4-year-old black domestic short-hair, samson, received an offer for the american express rewards plus gold card.
"at first it's funny. then you get a little nervous about it," mrs. hecox said, sitting in her dining room and thumbing through the application with a puzzled look on her face while samson sat at the door waiting to be let outside.
"as the membership criteria at american express remains stringent, the rewards plus gold card is difficult to acquire for all but the most financially disciplined," the application letter starts off.
really?
ms. hecox said samson is a good boy, but has no financial history.
american express spokesman kim forde couldn't comment on the offer to samson, but said it was not the company's intention to provide credit for a cat. she planned to follow up with ms. hecox.
"mistakes happen," ms. forde said.
this isn't the first time ms. hecox has gotten a strange offer from credit card companies. she has received applications for her children and even her late husband - mistakes she understood, sort of. but she has trouble grasping how a cat could get one.
the card offer is riddled with praise for samson, touting his financial prowess, assuring him that he's "earned this recognition":
"only a select group of people will ever carry the rewards plus gold card. it instantly identifies you as someone special - one who has earned a superior degree of financial freedom."
"it really goes on about how great a credit record he could have," ms. hecox said. "how could they say that?"
she said she never applied for an american express card and neither did her daughter tanya, who lives in alexandria, va. the card application was sent to alexandria even though samson has lived in glen burnie for years - a minor mix-up considering the circumstances.
"all of us have been mystified as to how they got his name and my daughter's address," ms. hecox said.
according to the federal reserve, americans were carrying $2 trillion in credit card debt in september, a $300 billion increase since 2000.
ms. hecox said she considered sending in samson's application.
"i've thought about it, just to see what would happen," she said.
would a cat be expected to pay?
hometown annapolis
Video:
more and more, video game-related courses are being offered in colleges around the country in response to the digital media industry's appetite for skilled workers and the tastes of a new generation of students raised on game boy and xbox.
animation i, cognition & gaming and computer music are being offered as part of the year-old minor in game studies at rpi, one of dozens of schools that have added courses or degree programs related to video gaming in recent years.
rpi, which plans to offer a major in the field next year, graduated 27 gaming minors in its first year and expects a jump this year.
"the concept of designing good video games, or designing good human-computer interactions — that's what i'm interested in," said chelsea hash, a senior with a video game minor and a major in electronic arts.
from brooklyn's pratt institute to the university of colorado, at least 50 schools around the country now offer courses in video game study, development or design, according to industry groups.
some of the schools offer full-blown academic programs. the university of washington offers a certificate in game design; the art institute of phoenix gives a bachelor of arts in game art and design; and the university of pennsylvania has a master's in computer graphics and game technology.
jason della rocca, executive director of the international game developers association, said the high number of schools adding programs in the past few years shows how the game industry is maturing.
della rocca said that in the early "space invader" days of game development, one developer could mentor a handful of workers. now, games can cost $10 million to develop and require 200 workers, making the industry hungrier for specialized skills.
rpi humanities dean john harrington said the idea of teaching about video games in college "brings out the puritan in some people," but he said the technology-oriented school can't afford to ignore the booming field of digital media.
administrators at rpi say they developed a serious academic program that marries technology and creativity.
marc destefano, who teaches the psychology of play, system dynamics and game theory in his introductory course, wants students to appreciate the interplay of mechanics, dynamics and aesthetics that he says makes a video game work — be it pac-man or resident evil.
it's not all about design, however: katherine isbister teaches students about the social and emotional aspects of gaming. her research lab looks more like a teen's dream living room with sectional sofa, plasma-screen tv and a shelf full of video games. less obvious are the cameras that can focus on players' faces.
many of the academic programs at rpi and elsewhere are still new and are just starting to become a feeder system for the $10 billion-a-year video game industry.
della rocca compares it to the emergence of film studies programs decades ago. dismissed at first, they now produce big-name directors in a field now considered by many to be a serious art form.
"just like when rock and roll came of age everybody wanted to be a rock star, as video games have come of age, everyone wants to be a developer," said carolyn rauch, senior vice president of the entertainment software association.
:: anathema ::
yahoo
Video:
struggling to lure customers back amid increased competition, mcdonald's is adding a new item to its menu in japan: the shrimp burger.
the 270 yen ($2.40), burger, shown to reporters friday and set to go on sale this month, is the latest effort by the japan unit of the u.s. fast-food chain to win over japanese palates - and spark sales.
mcdonald's japan is also testing other additions, including chicken salad and yogurt.
the hamburger chain with more than 3,700 stores in the world's second largest economy has tried everything from tofu burgers to advertising blitzes to coax diners back to the golden arches after the company posted a loss in 2002 amid the mad cow scare.
"many people who used to come to mcdonald's had stopped coming, but they're coming back," said eikoh harada, who took over as chief executive in 2004.
profits at mcdonald's holdings co. (japan) ltd., about 50 percent owned by the u.s. mcdonald's corp. (mcd), have been gradually recovering since its first loss in 29 years in japan. although mcdonald's uses australian beef unaffected by mad cow disease, the fatal brain-wasting ailment, japanese consumption of beef - and big macs - dropped sharply at the time.
friday's news conference, held at a mcdonald's outlet in tokyo, included taste-tests of recent menu offerings such as a grilled chicken sandwich and yogurt with granola - all a change of pace from the big mac.
the shrimp burger developed especially for japan is a bit similar to the filet-o-fish, except it's filled with shrimp.
ap news
Video:
vip guests at the grand opening of the night safari zoo in northern thailand will not only get to see exotic animals - they'll get to taste them.
the chiang mai night safari zoo will have its official opening on new year's day, and the "exotic buffet" marking the event will include tiger, lion, elephant and giraffe, said plodprasop suraswadi, the director of the zoo project.
"the vip guest who pay 4,500 baht ($110) for the buffet will have the privilege of tasting an exotic menu, ranging from dog meat from (thailand's sakhon nakhon province) to lion meat from africa," plodprasop told reporters.
critics have lambasted the idea, saying that it will encourage wildlife trafficking in a country and region already notorious for smuggling tiger parts, bear claws and endangered species for chinese delicacies, traditional medicines and pets.
"serving rare animals on the table confirms that thailand is ignoring policies for wildlife preservation," said wildlife fund thailand secretary suraphol duangkae.
"thailand's image is already bad for trading animals and being a transit and laundering point (for smugglers)," suraphol said. "the zoo will make only the image worse by serving rare animals."
kenya said last week it will give thailand 175 wild animals - including african buffalo, various species of antelope, zebra and giraffe - as a gift to strengthen relations, but conservationists voiced concern that thailand does not have a good track record of wildlife management and conservation.
the project, based on singapore's night safari zoo, will have 2,000 animals of about 100 different species.
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